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Hooda, a fighter on and off the mat

PUNE: When his father passed away five years ago, a 17-year-old Deepak Hooda had two choices - to depend on others' support or to make himself strong enough to lead a good life. He chose the latter. The Puneri Paltan raider, who had cleared his standard 12 exam then, stood on his feet by teaching English and Math to school children along with focusing on kabaddi. Other than looking after himself, Hooda had the responsibility of supporting his elder sister and raise her children too. "My mother had passed away when I was four. After my father was gone, I used to teach at a school in my village, but I knew if anything can take me up, it was kabaddi," Hooda said. "I was always a good student. I had to teach to support my sport. I used to get up at 3 am to train before going to school to teach. Later in the afternoon I used to work in the field. And in the evening, I used to go to Rohtak, which is 28 km from my village, to train," the all-rounder, who represented India in the 2016 World Cup, said. Hooda hails from Chamaria village near Rohtak in Haryana. His hard work paid off and Hooda made it to the Indian team. "I never got a chance to play in the junior team. I directly played for the senior national team in 2016," he said. Hooda has played in all five editions of Vivo Pro Kabaddi and has scored 507 points from 73 games. In the fifth season itself, the Haryana boy has scored 116 points from 16 games. He is one of the top earners in the league (76 lakh approx), but the 23-year-old is not bothered about numbers. "I am in a good position today, both financially and mentally, but it was never about money. I didn't started kabaddi to stand on my feet. I have got a good purse in the PKL, but I didn't play the sport only for money. Playing for India was always my priority," said Hooda who had made his India debut from the South Asian Games last year.